Game: Did I sweat you? God, I hope I didn’t sweat you. I wanted to know you. The deeper smarter better cuter version of yourself. Of who you know yourself to be. I mean I respected, yo. Never did I infringe, or even say. I thought all in all of that you could me see as a friend. Never did I touch or even admit.
Lia: Admit what?
Game: [laughs and half states/maybe even with sarcasm Game's imagination is so wide and huge that it includes Lia in everything.] That the sun sets and rises in your smile. It freely sets itself, the sun does, outside of my window. That I was crushing. That when I saw you smile I knew then, that I wanted to make you happy. Happy, so you smiled like that.
[Lia smiles]
Lia: So. [beat] So what do you want from me ?
Game: [to self] for us to have never had this conversation…sike no. [hunches shoulders] I just want to be your friend. But I guess at one point I wanted more than that. I’d hope that you thought about me the way I thought about you. Knowing you, you probably would have said something by now. I just want to let that go. I’m sorry if I made things weird between us. I was just so damn sure of myself. Ideally [beat] I’d like to marry for love.
[Lia in almost a whisper]
Lia: Me too.
Game: Let me walk you out.
[Game motions to the door, unlocks and gingerly opens it ]
[Game manages to reciprocatingly hug Lia goodbye, in an “A” frame embrace.]
Game: [in a low mumble] Aight homie.
It has a final sounding refrain, it doesn’t echo, or even suggest that they will speak later on if every again. Game is embarrassed. Lia feels bad and but doesn’t say anything more
[Lia offers a limp wave as Game closes the door. ]
[Game’s swagger drops, as she turns around. She had really wanted to know, love and understand Lia. A lump is forming into her throat, as she returns to the couch. she mumbles]
Game: icecold.
[as she walks from the door she repeats the same word: icecold, In a panic as if saying the words could dissolve the growing angst she feels]
Game: icecold.
[She takes a towel from the back of the couch, and places it over her head. Bringing the corners of the towel to the hollows of her eyes as if to dry tears. She screams into the towel. Her voice full of raw emotion. In frustration.]
Game: ICECOLD.
[Game lets the towel fall loosely around her head, and hunches her shoulders in exhaustion]
Game: [low and horse] ice cold.
[cue music: Sade “Love is Stronger than Pride” ]
Sitting here wasting my time
Would be like
Waiting for the sun to rise
It's all too clear things come and go
Sitting here waiting for you
Would be like waiting for winter It's gonna be cold
There may even Be snow
[Lights though fading, fade up and down gradually up in down mimicking respiration until the final fade to black]
[ music: love is stronger than pride looped from “Sitting…through to repetitive guitar solo…]
4 comments:
Lia: things did get really weird between us. I freaked out, for no reason really. Highly unusual. You were unresponsive. I felt like you really didn’t want to hear from me.
Game: I didn’t quite know how to respond…I thought it was best to just fall back.
Lia: [to self] You should have called. That would have made all the difference in the world. I wasn’t about to reject you, I’m the one who put myself all the way out there. [to Game] and then there’s Leo pride.
Game: [shrugs definitively; blinks and raises eyebrows in one expression, looking away as if to say “I guess”].
Lia: [tries to read Game’s expression, but feels herself getting frustrated by Game’s resistance to revealing even the tiniest bit of vulnerability] so you’re leaving, huh?
Game: [feeling transparent, but appreciative of the change in subject] Yeah, I’ve done everything I wanted to do here. Time for a change.
Lia: [accepting that this is as far as the conversation will go] well, good luck, not that you’ll need it.
Game: [almost whispering] You too.
Lia: [feeling the loss of an aborted connection, initiates a warm hug hoping to communicate everything through touch]
Game: [searches Lia’s eyes as she pulls out of the almost-too-long embrace, understanding Lia’s touch more than she expected to. Game lets her guard down for a split second] Are you for real?
Lia: Absolutely.
Game and Lia stand in silence as the lights dim on stage.
[cue music: Sade “Love is Stronger than Pride” ]
Interesting take reader. Thanks for that. I like the cliff hanger ending better.
glad you liked it. cliffhangers drive me crazy with curiosity.
Are you performing this too? I love it...keep up the great work.
Post a Comment